Sacrifice Your Hearts!

"Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them."

- Amos 5:22

Even though the Israelites had turned their backs on God, they were still doing all the sacrifices and going through all the motions because that is what was expected of them and it was what they had always done. But their hearts weren't invested in what they were doing. Jesus says: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt 6:21) The Israelites had placed value in their idols and had made these false gods into their treasure, and as a result that was where their hearts resided. Someone may ask this question: "So, their hearts weren't really in it but as long as they were doing all the sacrifices, they would be safe right?" Wrong! In the long run, God doesn't really care about the sacrifices of animals, or money, or even your valuable time; the only sacrifice that God wants is to have your whole hearts focused on him: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17) So Sacrifice your hearts to God today!

A Personal Relationship with the Former of Mountains

‎"He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name."

- Amos 4:13

This verse reminded me of how powerful and amazing our God is! He forms the mountains, creates wind, turns the daylight to darkness and walks on the high places of the earth as if they're nothing! He has so much power and yet he takes the time to reveal to us his thoughts and to know us and love us personally. It takes a lot of power to be able to know all of those who are his, but the Bible says that he does. Jesus, the ultimate shepherd is mentioned doing this for his sheep "calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:3) The same God who forms the mountains also knows us each by name and he is there to lead each of us individually!

God's Plan, Pieces of the Puzzle

"Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets."

- Amos 3:7

This verse reminded me of how much God cared for his people. His judgments were a way of bringing the people back to him but he always warned his people before he did so. He gave Jeremiah the job of warning the Israelites for a whole 20 years before anything even happened. He gave his people time to repent and he gave his people trials and judgement so that they could return to him. This verse also reminded me of the plan that God has for each and every one of us, he may not give us the whole picture but sometimes we get the privilege of getting little pieces of the puzzle, times when we have felt like we were doing what we're meant to do, or times when someone has told us "You're really a natural at ____!" God has an amazing plan for each of us and every single day that we live, he is making it happen!

Let God Be Your Strength

"Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”

- Joel 3:10

This verse reminded me of a battle cry, of God rallying his people to fight. Not in a battle against flesh and blood but against the evil spiritual forces as well as the principalities. We all need to fight, no matter how weak we think we are- God can use us and strengthen us so that we can all say "I am strong!" all we need to do is to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." (Eph 6:10) when we are strengthened in God's power, we don't have to be afraid or worried about what will happen. God is looking out for us and like Paul says: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil 4:13) this applies to each and every one of us, no matter what our weaknesses are. When we let Christ give us his strength we can be glad about our weaknesses not thinking about them as a cage that is holding us back but rather a window where God's power can shine through us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10) Let God be your strength!

Rend Your Hearts!

"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."

- Joel 2:13

In Biblical times, the rending of garments was a sign of great mourning and distress in times of intense grief: "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:20-21) It was also a sign of great anger when someone believes that blasphemy has taken place:“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” “He is worthy of death,” they answered. (Matt 26:64-66) In Joel 2:13, the rending was talking about distress and mourning over what had happened to Jerusalem. The people of Judah saw all the devastation around them and the felt grieved. But God was telling them that he didn't just want them to lie in mourning, feeling guilty for their wrongdoing. He wanted them to repent, to turn from these ways and live a new life and then he would take them back: "But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life." (Ezek 18:27) I think that this verse is important for us as believers as well. As Christians we know that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (Rom 8:1) But sometimes when we fall into temptation and sin, we beat ourselves up about how we have "failed" and we wonder if we can even be forgiven at all. God doesn't want us to sit around dwelling in our own self-pity, he is compassionate and he is more than ready to forgive us. All that we have to do is repent and we can be confident that it is over! no condemning, no lingering guilt, just the complete and awesome forgiveness of our God! Don't dwell in guilt! Live in God's amazing forgiveness!

Speed Dial God

"To you, O LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field."

- Joel 1:19

I chose this verse today because it reminded me of how God should be the first one that we call when things get crazy in our lives or whenever things are going badly. He has a reason for whatever it is that we are going through and he will be there with us through it all. We should have God on our speed dial! Not only for when we can't walk any more or go on any longer but also just when we are weary. Christ says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt 11:28-29)

Walking in the Way of the Lord

"Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them."

- Hosea 14:9

Solomon tells us: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Prov 1:7). The only way that we can know how to walk in the way of the Lord as well as understanding what it means is to love him and have a relationship with him. When we understand the amazing plan that God has for us and trust him to guide in his ways then we can keep going. But those who don't trust God don't understand what amazing things He wants for them. They get distracted by the things that they don't agree with and they stumble. Dear God, please help me to fear you and to walk in your ways!

Why I'm Here

My daily devotions are the most important part of my day, without them I wouldn't feel like my day has started, they are my foundation. The way that I do these devotions is that I read a chapter of scripture (Sometimes more), after I have finished the passage that I am reading that day, I write down the verse that jumped out at me and I write down what it means to me. I have learned things that are really exciting by doing this and I love to share them with others! As a result, I started posting them on facebook and emailing the to some people who wanted to read them. If I am already facebooking and emailing these verses to the people that I know, then why am I starting a blog where anyone and everyone can see it? I am doing this because I believe that God's word has the amazing power to transform people's lives. I know that I personally have changed a lot since I started reading the Bible every day and this has been a real blessing in my life. Because I have seen the way that God works in my own life, I am confident that he will work wonders through your life as well. I'm not just talking about the people that I know and care about but also the people I don't know, God has a plan for each and every one of your lives and would love for you to be transformed and refreshed by his word! That is the mission of this blog, so tune in every day for the V.O.T.D! :)